The Best and Most Affordable Way to Engage Your Customers

As COVID-19 progresses, companies are rethinking their business model, employee relations and marketing strategies. During this time, small businesses are particularly hurting more than others. They need to reconnect with their customers in the most frugal of ways. Plus, they need those connections to convert into sales fairly quickly. So, how can a small company compete and win?

In all my years of marketing, the number one lesson I’ve learned is that you don’t need to have a big budget to communicate like a big brand. Undoubtedly, the first question on your mind is, “How?” The answers are simple, but the solutions have been far more complex — until now.

Typically, companies shoot for the stars and try to find a breakthrough creative idea. Mind you, an inexpensive one that makes sales soar and wins awards like there’s no tomorrow. But as a creative person I have to tell you that is incredibly hard. Out of a thousand ideas, you may get five or six that truly hit the mark and actually change behavior to that degree. Nonetheless, many brand managers cling to that hope when they lack a budget.

Technology is the great equalizer.

We’ve learned that technology has an incredible amount of power to help brands succeed. It has allowed small companies to win the David and Goliath battle many times over. Yet, the proper application of communications technology eludes most companies. The reasoning is often that they don’t understand it or they are complacent in the success they’ve already had. 

For example, the idea behind a company having its own native app. The first answer I generally hear is, “We are too small to have our own app.” For many companies that’s simply not true. Ella Bliss Beauty Bar in Colorado has three locations and a few thousand clients. Their native app crushes it in terms of ROI and their ability to have direct communication with their customers. The other response I’ve received is about priorities. “We need to get a new website done before we tackle an app,” said one client in the car service business. However, their business is comprised nearly 100% based on mobile behaviors. A full-sized website won’t do much to affect their bottom line.

Finally, I have gotten the, “Our business relies on direct mail.” That’s great only if you want to be selling products on sale in a generic fashion. The tactic will never allow you to provide a personalized customer experience — one that aligns a customer’s behaviors. To prove my point, just look at Starbucks. They are not sending you direct mail pieces so you can come in and get a customized coffee to your specifications. They are using their app and the technology in it for drive personalization at a scale never seen before. If they can do it, so can you.

The power of communication is already in your customer’s hands.

The “how” of affordable customer engagement is owning your direct communications channel: a native app. And, with newer technologies like Flutter it’s cheaper than ever. Your customers are demanding personalized communications from you on a timely basis. They may never see your ad or social post. They may take up to a week to open your email. And you have no idea if they receive your direct mail. With a native app and the right push notification strategy, one based on behavior and location no less, you have the ability to connect with your customers at an individual level. On average, push notifications are opened within seconds. And it is the least expensive way to send content to your customers. Yes, even cheaper than email.

Use a customer’s behavior to determine what you should do next.

While Push notifications are ridiculously inexpensive, the biggest advantage they hold is the ability to give you a level of personalization no other channel can match. That’s critical given the fact study, which shows that companies who use personalization will outsell their competitors by 20 percent.

Through the use of a native app with a behavior data set behind it, any company can be its own media company. By no means am I recommending you abandon your other marketing channels. I’m saying you need to seriously reconsider your mix. There’s a phrase, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” If you are not communicating with your most loyal customers on their terms, then you are missing an opportunity to beat Goliath.